[rif. z14609604] View Jobs Description

Job #: req29423

Organization: World Bank

Sector: External Affairs & Corporate Relations

Grade: GF

Term Duration: 4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment

Location: Rome,Italy

Preferred Language(s): Italian/Spanish/ Portuguese/Greek

Closing Date: 10/20/2024 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

Established in 1944, the World Bank Group (WBG) is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2023, the World Bank committed $72.8 billion in 94 countries. It is governed by 189-member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with nearly 15,000 staff located globally.

The World Bank is organized into seven client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions, and Global Practices to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients.

ECR manages global engagement with key stakeholders, including media, civil society, private sector, donor countries, and multilateral and international organizations (including the EU, OECD, and UN agencies); and manages corporate communications, including online and social media; issues and reputational risk management; and employee engagement.

External and Corporate Affairs – Western Europe

As part of the World Bank’s External and Corporate Relations function in Western Europe, the World Bank's Rome Office (the Rome Office) is responsible for leading the dialogue between the World Bank and Southern European countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Greece), the Vatican, and support the dialogue with United Nations organizations based in Rome (FAO- Food and Agriculture Organization, IFAD-International Fund for Agricultural Development, and WFP-World Food Program).

ECRWE – Italy and the Rome Office

The ECRWE team in Rome is led by the Special Representative to Southern Europe, based in Rome. The overall objective of the External Affairs Officer is to support the World Bank Group’s stakeholder relationships in Southern Europe and raise the visibility of the expanded operational footprint of the Rome Office.

This includes maintaining a strong dialogue with Southern Europe authorities and stakeholders, staying abreast of political and economic developments, and implementing multi-constituency outreach programs in said countries.

S/he reports to ECR Special Representative to Southern Europe, who is also based in Rome.

Country Dialogue with Southern Europe

This means that, in addition to the primary country responsibility, each team member will have secondary tasks that advance European policy dialogues, business intelligence gathering and resource mobilization.

Specifically, the country dialogue with Southern European countries aims to:

• Maintain a strong dialogue with and enhance the cooperation between the WBG and Southern European countries.
• Strengthen the financial, political, institutional and knowledge partnerships with national institutions and stakeholders.
• Foster communication and outreach with key constituencies, including parliaments, civil society, think tanks, private sector, foundations, and academia.
• Increase the practical collaboration between WBG units, including the Global Practices (GPs) and Operational teams.

European Media Team.

The media team coordinates with ECR Western Europe’s Country Counselors on the overall outreach to the media in Western Europe. The External Affairs Officer works closely with the World Bank’s corporate media team in Europe.

Duties & Accountabilities:

Country Dialogue with Southern European Countries.

The External Affairs Officer is expected to play a key role in supporting the Country Dialogue with the Southern European countries, including:

• Planning, coordinating, and implementing outreach activities of the World Bank in the Southern European countries, as agreed with the ECR Special Representative to Southern Europe.
• Preparing regular or on-demand briefs on political and economic issues concerning the Southern European countries.
• Provide donor intelligence on the Southern European countries.

Specifically, the External Affairs Officer is expected to handle the following tasks:

Planning and Program:

• Identify counterparts, partners, priorities, and thematic foci for the World Bank’s outreach in the Southern European countries and support the preparation of a comprehensive outreach strategy.
• Support the implementation of the outreach strategy, focusing on key constituencies in the Southern European countries, including governments and parliaments, civil society, academia and think tanks.

Research, Analysis and Briefing:

• Prepare in-depth political and economic analyses, taking into consideration the impact of national policies, trends, and attitudes on a country’s bilateral and multilateral development cooperation.
• Prepare briefings for meetings between World Bank management/staff and counterparts, including for the World Bank Spring and Annual Meetings, World Bank staff visits, and other briefing requests.
• Tracking developments in the authorizing environment of Southern Europe and flagging risks and opportunities for stakeholder engagement for senior management and Rome Office staff, as agreed with the ECR Special Representative to Southern Europe.

Networking:

• Liaise, manage, and maintain relationships with key development cooperation partners.
• Identify and establish relationships with auxiliary partners in the broader authorizing environment.

Visits and Events:

• Organize events, seminars, and conferences and/or, if applicable, WBG staff participation in events, seminars, or conferences in the Southern European countries.
• Organize and manage logistics and schedules of visits of WBG Senior Management.

• Support the World Bank Special Representative to Southern Europe in overseeing and coordinating the activities of various teams within the Rome Office, which include multiple World Bank Group (WBG) units. Ensure seamless collaboration and communication among these teams to enhance the operational efficiency of the office.
• Plan and organize regular meetings between the different units within the Rome Office. Prepare agendas, coordinate schedules, and ensure that follow-up actions are documented and tracked to completion.
• Assist in the development and implementation of strategic initiatives that require cross-unit cooperation. Provide support in planning, execution, and monitoring of these initiatives to ensure alignment with the overall objectives of the WBG.

• Minimum of a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in economics, development, political science, international relations/public affairs, law or any other related field, combined with at least 5 years of relevant practical experience OR equivalent combination of education and experience
• Superior analytical skills coupled with proven ability to communicate clearly and concisely in English, both verbally and in writing. Ability to extract essential elements from voluminous materials and to present them concisely and coherently in written and spoken form.
• Active network within the authorizing environments in one or more of the Southern European countries.
• Fluency in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese is an asset.
• Strong overall knowledge of the WBG, its mission and strategy. Familiarity with the World Bank’s operations, policies, and procedures (project cycle and World Bank-financed projects) is an advantage.
• Good knowledge and understanding of the economy, culture, institutions, media, regions, and political trends in at least one and preferably several of the Southern European countries. Knowledge of the EU and European institutions is a plus.
• Knowledge of ODA priorities and positions in the different Southern European countries.
• Strong interest in development issues and public affairs.
• Ability to effectively interact with internal and external clients at all levels in a multicultural environment, and to exercise judgment, tact, and discretion in dealing with sensitive and/or confidential matters.
• Good understanding of communications approaches, tools and methodologies related to planning, executing, and monitoring internal and/or external communications campaigns, strategies and programs.
• Excellent sense of initiative, drive for results and client orientation coupled with strong planning and organizational skills.
• Proven ability to work independently as well as under pressure, to multi-task and to adjust priorities to achieve results in line with agreed objectives and deadlines.
• Ability and willingness to work well as part of a team in a multicultural environment, and across units within the WBG.
• Proficiency in the World Bank’s standard computer technology packages (Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point), and familiarity with the Internet and web-based research.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

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